Matt Lauer Accused Of Rape By NBC News Colleague In Ronan Farrow's New Book

By Peyton BlakemoreOct 9, 2019

UPDATE (10/9):

Lauer denied the allegation that he raped Nevils in a lengthy open letter Wednesday morning (October 9) that was obtained by Variety. Read his full statement HERE.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Matt Lauer is being accused of rape.

In Ronan Farrow’s new book, "Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators," the esteemed journalist interviews Brooke Nevils — the once anonymous former NBC News employee whose complaint about Lauer led to his firing from the Today show in 2017 — who, according to Variety, alleges that Lauer anally raped her in his hotel room at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

In the book, which is out on October 15, Nevils details how she was tasked with working with former Today co-anchor Meredith Vieira, for Olympics coverage and the two ran into Lauer at their hotel bar one night, Variety reports. At the end of the night, Nevils, who'd had six shots, said she ended up going to Lauer’s hotel room twice — once to retrieve her press credential, which Lauer had taken as a joke, and the second time because he invited her back, according toVariety.

Once she was in his hotel room, Nevils alleges, per Variety, Lauer pushed her against the door, kissed her and then pushed her onto the bed. Farrow writes that he then flipped her over and asked if she liked anal sex. “She said that she declined several times," however, he allegedly "just did it" and didn't use a lubricant. Nevils claims the encounter was excruciatingly painful and "she bled for days."

“It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent,” she tells Farrow in the book, per Variety. "It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex."

Nevils adds that she had more sexual encounters with Lauer back in New York City, according to Variety, telling Farrow: "It was completely transactional. It was not a relationship."

Nevils later told Vieira about Sochi, and at the former host's urging, Nevils reported the encounter to NBC executives in the fall of 2017, following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Variety reports. Lauer was subsequently fired, while Nevils went on medical leave in 2018 and was eventually paid “seven figures," Farrow writes, per Variety.

In a statement read on-air Wednesday (October 9) on the Today show, NBC News said, “Matt Lauer’s conduct was appalling, horrific and reprehensible, as we said at the time. That’s why he was fired within 24 hours of us first learning of the complaint. Our hearts break again for our colleague.”